Angle cock device



July 24, 1934. HUME 1,967,309

ANGLE COCK DEVICE Filed June 7. 1932 25 2d M1 M3 27 I?! I g 7. IT

IAIWENTOR FRANK AHUME A TTORNE Patented July 24, 1934 ANGLE coon DEVICE Frank A. Hume, New York, N. Y., assignor .to

The Westinghouse Air'Brake Company, Wilmerding, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 'i, 1932, Serial No. 615,777

Claims. (01. 251-465) This invention relates to angle cock devices and more particularly to the-type employed in the brake pipe at each end of railway cars.

The usual angle cock device consists of a body 5 portion containing a plug valve adapted to be turned to an open and a closed position by means of a handle. In order to turn the plug valve from one position to the other, the handle must first be lifted from its normal position, so that cerla tain locking lugs on the handlewill clear corresponding lugs on the body, after which the plug valve can be turned. a

On some cars, a safety chain is p-rovided at each side of the car coupler, so'that if the car coupler is broken or pulled out of the car, the safety chains may be hooked to corresponding chains on the counterpart end'of the adjacent car and through the safety chains the crippled car and train to the rear ofthe crippled car may be 7 2o hauled.

Normally, the safety chainsfihang loosely at the end of the car and when the car is being hauled said chains may get to swinging sufficiently to hook on to the angle cock handle, lift said hane die and turn the angle cock device to closecom munication through the brake pipe, thereby preventing an engineer from having any control of the brakes to the rear of the closed angle cock device; It willbe obvious that if the engineer .30 should at this time desire to suddenlystop the train, he would be unable to apply the brakes on thecars to the rear of the closed angle cock device, and serious damage or a wrecking of the train would be liable to occur.

The principal object ofmy invention is to provide improved means for locking the handle of an angle cock device in the normal'positionso that a swinging safety chain or the like will be unable to lift the handle to the position fo comprises the usual body 1, a plug valve 2 rotatably mounted in the body, and a handle 3 secured to the plug Valve for turning the plug valve from an open to a closed position and from the closed to the open position. The plug valve 2 is provided with a through port 4, adapted in the open position of the cock, shown in Figs. 1 and 3, to establish communication through the conduit 5 in the cock body.

Fitted to the end of the plug valve and secured thereto by a pin 6,-isthe usual member '7 having an outwardly and downwardly projecting finger 8 adapted to engage a stop lug 9 on the body when the plug valve is in open position, and adapted to engage a stop mg 10 inthe body when the plug valve is in closed position. Projecting from member 7 at the opposite side of finger 8 is -a portion 11 to which is pivotally connected, by means of a pin 12, the operating handle 3. The handle 3 is shaped, as at 14, to freely pass over the member '7 and is providedwith a recess 15 for receiving the finger 8 when the handle is in the normal position. r

, Projecting from the handle 3 at the opposite sides of 14 are two lugs 16 and 17, the lug 17 being adapted to engage the body lug 10 and prevent turning of the plug valve from open to closed position when the handle is in the normal position, while the handle lug 16 is adapted to coactwith body lug 9, when the handle is in nor m'al position, to prevent turning the plug valve 30' from closed to open position. i

Inorder to turn the plug valve 2 from the open position, shown in Figs. 1 and 3, to the closed position, the handle 3 is first lifted to the position shown in Fig. 3; In this position, the handle lug 17 is raised above the body lug 10, so that the handle may be turned to rotate the plug valve to closed position. When the closed position is reached, the handle is returnedto normal position, the handle lug 16 'droppingin front of the body lug 9, so as to prevent turning of the plug valve from closed position to open position without first raising the handle, the return movement to open position being obvious from the above description.

In accordance with my invention, a recess in the member 7 provides a shoulder 19 with which the lip 20 on a plunger 21 is adapted'to efiect locking engagement, the plunger 21 being asso-' ciated with the handle 3, so as to prevent rais ing said handle without first disengaging the plunger lip 20 from the shoulder 19. v

Secured to the handle 3 is a tube-like member 22 one end of which is closed by a plug 23. The plug 23 is provided with an opening in which an operating pin 24 is slidably mounted. The plunger 21 is secured to one end of pin 24, while an operating nut 25 is secured to the other end of said pin a certain distance away from the plug 23. A bushing 26 is loosely mounted on the pin 24 and in the open end of the member 22, a spring 27 being interposed between said bushing and the plug 23 for urging the plunger 21 outwardly and into locking engagement with the member 7.

An auxiliary handle 28 is provided for pulling the plunger 21 away from member 7, so as to disengage lip 20 from shoulder 19. The auxiliary handle 28 is shaped to conform in general to the shape of handle 3 and is pivotally mounted on a lug 29 of the handle 3 by means of a cotter pin 30 passing through the auxiliary handle and the lug 29. The upper end of the handle is bent up and forked, the two tines 31 of the fork being interposed between the nut 25 and plug 23, one of said tines being on each side of the operating pin 24.

If it is desired to release the handle 3, so that it may be raised to the position for turning the plug valve, the lower end of the auxiliary han-' dle 28 is pressed against the cock handle 3 and causes the forked end of said handle to engage nut 25 and move said nut, the pin 24 and plunger 21 away from the member 7, such movement pulling the lip 20 on said plunger out of engagement with the shoulder 19 on the member '7. The handle 3 may then be raised to the position shown in Fig.3, in which the plug valve 2 can be turned to the position desired. When the plug valve is turned to the proper position, the handle is returned to its normal position. In returning the handle to its normal position, the surface 32 on. the plunger 21 engages the surface 33 on the member '7, and the plunger 21 is forced away from the member '7 until the normal position of handle 3 is reached, in which position spring 27 forces the plunger outwardly into locking engagement with the member 7. To again turn the plug valve 2, the handle 3 must first be unlocked from the member '7 and then raised to the operating position in which the handle lugs 16 and 17 clear the body lugs 9 and 10, as will be evident.

From the above description, it will be noted that the angle cock handle 3, must be manually I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: I

1. A valve device comprising a body, a valve mounted-in said body and movable to a plurality of positions, a pivotedhandle having a normal position and adapted to be lifted to an operating position for moving said valve, lugs on the body for defining the positions of said valve, means associated with said handle and adapted in'the normal position of said handle to engage said I lugs for preventing movement of said handle in the direction of movement of said valve, means independent of and movable relative to said body for locking said handle in the normal position against being lifted to the operating position, and means movable in the act of gripping said handle for releasing the locking means so that said handle may be lifted to the operating position.

2. A valve device comprising a body, a valve mounted in said body and movable to a plurality of positions, a pivoted handle having a normal position and adapted to be lifted to an operating position for moving said valve, a movable latch carried by said pivoted handle, a member carried by and movable with said valve and adapted to be engaged by said latch for holding said handle in the normal position, and an auxiliary handle carried by said pivoted handle and movable against said pivoted handle for moving said latch out of engagement with said member.

3. A valve device comprising a body, a valve mounted'in said body and movable to a plurality of positions, a pivoted handle having a normal position and adapted to be lifted to an operating position for moving said valve, a movable latch carried by said pivoted handle, a member movable with said valve and having a recess to receive said latch for holding said handle in the normal position, and a latch operating handle pivotally carried by the valve operating handle and movable against the valve operating handle for releasing said latch from said member.

4. A valve device comprising a body, a valve mounted in said body and movable to a plurality of positions, a pivoted handle having a normal position and adapted to be lifted to an operating position for moving said valve, a movable latch carried by said pivoted handle, a member movable with said valve and having a shoulder, said latch having a lip adapted to effect locking engagement with said shoulder for holding said handle in the normal position, a spring for urging said latch to the locking position, and an auxiliary handle pivotally mounted on the upper side of the valve operating handle, and operative upon gripping the valve operating handle to disengage the lip on said latch from the shoulder on said member so that said valve operating handle may be lifted to the operating position.

5. A valve device comprising a body having a pair of spaced lugs, a valve mounted in said body and movable to a plurality of positions, a member carried by said valve and adapted to engage said lugs for defining the positions of said valve, a pivoted handle having a normal position and adapted to be lifted to an operating position for moving said valve, a latch carried by said handle and automatically operative upon the movement of said handle from the operating to the normal position to effect locking engagement with said member for locking said handle in the normal position, and an auxiliary handle carried by said pivoted handle, said auxiliary handle being movable against said pivoted handle, in the act of gripping said pivoted handle, for releasing said latch from said member so that the pivoted handle may be raised to operating position.

FRANK A. HUME. 

